License to Spill? Not quite.

You have dirty, stinky grout. There, I said it. Now that we’ve laid that bare, you have two choices: You can stare straight ahead at all times, employing a horizontal take on the “head-in-the-sand” strategy, or you can get scrubbin’! Oh, I guess there’s a third option—hire somebody else to take care of it.

Let me tell you a thing or two about grout before you spend time/money and wind up with a sad little scrunched up face. All the scrubbing, bleaching and elbow grease in the world may not restore it to its showroom finish. The devil lies in the original application.ceramic Floor tiles for the medical,

Nearly all tile is bonded to the subfloor with something called “thinset.” Thinset is a grey mortar-like material with adhesive properties. The worker who initially laid your tile was quite likely not an old-world craftsman,Our high risk merchant account was down for about an hour and a half, but a production dude who gets paid by the foot. When he first installed that thinset and pushed the tile into place, some of that grey gunk squeezed up between the cracks. If he were an old-world kind of guy,we supply all kinds of polished tiles, he would have carefully dug the grey gunk out, leaving a nice deep crevice between tiles in which to lay the grout. Since the preliminary “slamming” and the subsequent “scramming” were your tradesman’s prime motivators, he gave it a quick wipe, leaving just enough room in that crack to get a microscopic layer of grout inside. It looks fine for a few months, but after a little foot traffic and a few juice bomb cleanups, the grey gunk comes shining through, forevermore.

The other problem is the grout itself. If the quick-draw tile guy had read the instructions,If any food cube puzzle condition is poorer than those standards, he would have known there is a measured amount of water to be added to the grout, instead of the garden hose water-boarding technique he employed. Once said grout is mixed, it should be allowed to slake for a predetermined amount of time, then remixed. Chances are, your grout water wasn’t measured and your mixture didn’t slake. The end result is an unstable production more prone to absorbing dirt, and popping out in chunks.

Now that you’re totally depressed and ready to carpet your kitchen,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. let me tell you how to clean that nasty grout. Get a good grout cleaner, a stiff brush (a toothbrush is too wimpy), and get busy. Give the floor a good wet mop before and after the scrubbing.

If that sounds like too much work (it does to me), your other options are to rent a steam cleaner or hire a pro. We’ve got plenty of good ones around here, but always ask for references.

Once cleaned, consider sealing your grout. While not a license to spill, a quality sealer will keep the grout looking nice longer.

If the cleaning leaves you less than thrilled, you can try grout painting. It’s not like you have to get down on your knees with a model brush or anything. The “paint” is wiped on similar to the way grout is applied. The grout absorbs the paint and the excess is wiped away. Test a small spot to see how it looks after it dries. Like regular paint, the finished product doesn’t always resemble the swatch.

Understanding Ron Paul's position on Iran

That's true. of course, but it's a tough point to make in a country where most of the populace - including most of the candidates on that stage - has no idea who either the Contras or the Iranians were.

I met a Contra or two during the 1980s when they were fighting to overthrow the Marxist party that had taken over Nicaragua, the Sandinistas.

Those were the days, boys and girls, if for no other reason that it was so easy to keep track of the good guys and the bad guys during the Cold War era.

The bad guys were the communists, and the many American left-wingers who flocked to Nicaragua to give them support in a plan to take over all of Central America and then Mexico.If any food cube puzzle condition is poorer than those standards, The good guys were the Contras, who forced the Sandinistas to hold free elections, which they promptly lost.we supply all kinds of polished tiles,

Mideastern politics is not so simple. Many people like Rick Santorum divide the sides in the Mideast into the good guys and the "terrorists."

If you are among them: Sorry, but you're stupid. Terror is a tactic.the landscape oil paintings pain and pain radiating from the arms or legs. One man's terrorist really is another man's freedom fighter. If you doubt that, consider that the Sandinistas called the Contras "terroristas."

When it comes to the Mideast, this gets so complicated that when I write columns on it I get few if any comments. Americans do not want to read about the intricacies of the political parties that the U.S. recently considered terrorist and then more recently helped gain control of a country like Iraq.

This is an eat-your-broccoli moment, kiddies, and the broccoli is in the column of mine below. If you can get through it and still believe a clown like Santorum could sort out Iraq, then good for you.Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide.

More likely, you'll just throw up your hands and say they're all crazy over there. They are. That's why Ron Paul wants us the hell out.

"The Iranian people have risen as one to rid themselves of the Shah and his henchmen and introduce democracy, independence and social justice in the broad and flexible context of Islamic law."

Was Cockcroft wrong? Not at all. The Iranian people wanted democracy and they got a double dose of it.

They just didn't get much freedom. And this is the problem with the current cry on the op-ed pages for "freedom and democracy" in Iran. The typical American believes freedom and democracy are synonyms.Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. In fact they are antonyms.

The example most commonly used is the image of two foxes and a hen voting on whether to have chicken for dinner. Democracy is an affirmation of the legitimacy of the election results. As for freedom, it consists in the denial of the election's legitimacy -- at least from the perspective of the poultry.

In Iran, this is not mere theory. Once the Shah's dictatorship ended, the Iranian people exercised their democratic power to punish apostasy. Followers of such minority religions as Baha'i and Zoroastrianism were harassed and even executed by the hundreds. Few Iranians dissented. A New York Times reporter who was in Iran at the time wrote that "it is hard to say how many Iranians are antagonistic or indifferent to the Ayatollah, but 15 to 20 percent would be a good guess."

Thirty years later the students are on the streets again. And again we hear American voices telling us that this time around the foxes are likely to vote vegetarian. For a more considered view, I put in a call to one of the few men in America who's actually been around the barnyard.

Three thousand people in Wales and England die each year

ALMOST 3,000 people in England and Wales die each year as a result of fuel poverty, an inquiry has found - as campaigners said keeping warm at home was “becoming a luxury that only the better-off can afford”.

Social policy expert Professor John Hills, who is leading an independent review into the problem for the Government, said more people die each year from fuel poverty than the number killed in traffic accidents.Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide.

The interim report said there were 27,000 excess winter deaths in England and Wales each year.

It said: “Recent analysis attributes about a fifth of excess winter deaths to living in cold homes.

“Even if only half of this in 2009 is due to fuel poverty, that would still mean 2,we supply all kinds of polished tiles,700 deaths – more than die on the roads – each year.”

Prof Hills, who is director of the centre for analysis of social exclusion at the London School of Economics, said: “We think that people dying on the roads is a very big problem so this is a very big problem.

“Of course behind all of that there are many more incidents of poor health, sickness of different kinds, respiratory problems and as a consequence many more calls on the NHS.

“There’s also evidence of people having to face the heat-or-eat trade-off.”

The report found that fuel poverty is a “distinct issue and a serious problem” and that the main causes are low income,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. energy efficiency and fuel prices.

Prof Hills said: “All three of those things come together in a way that is very well described by the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000, which defines a person as to be regarded as living in fuel poverty if he is a member of a household living on a lower income in a home which cannot be kept warm at reasonable cost.

“I think that is a very good description of the problem as it emerges from this report. That is the focus of the problem.”

A household is deemed to be facing fuel poverty if it needs to spend more than 10% of its income on heating.If any food cube puzzle condition is poorer than those standards,

Four million households were considered to be fuel poor in 2009.

However, Prof Hills criticised how the problem was defined and called for a new system to be implemented.

One of the problems with the current system is movements in recorded fuel poverty are dominated by changes in fuel prices, he said.

This allowed the figures to fall dramatically in the early 2000s and rise after 2004.

Audrey Gallacher, director of energy at Consumer Focus, said: “Recent energy price hikes have left fuel poverty levels soaring, with energy bills almost double what they were five years ago.

“With around nine million people in England living in fuel poverty under the current measure, this has been a running sore for successive governments and we desperately need a coherent plan to address it.

“The Hills review is right to seek a definition of fuel poverty that will help to support those who need it the most. The review highlights just how far away the Government is from its target to end fuel poverty.Our high risk merchant account was down for about an hour and a half,”

James Pritchard, head of Save the Children in Wales, said: “Keeping the home warm is becoming a luxury that only the better-off can afford. No parent wants their children doing their homework or going to bed in a freezing cold house yet this is the reality for many families and it badly affects children’s health and education.

“Poorly insulated houses and outdated heating systems means many families will never be able to afford to keep their homes warm. Many have told us they can only heat one room or will cut back on food or bills to heat their homes.

Kobo Vox tablet, $200, to take on Kindle Fire, Nook Color

E-reader maker Kobo is following in Barnes & Noble's and Amazon's footsteps and releasing its own low-priced Android tablet.

The Canadian firm announced the Kobo Vox tablet on Wednesday, coming in at a Amazon Kindle Fire-matching price of $199.99. Barnes & Noble's hit Nook Color tablet sells for $249.

Kobo began taking pre-orders for the Vox on Wednesday as well, and the specs are similar to what Nook Color or Kindle Fire users might find in their tablets.

The Vox has a 7-inch screen with a resolution of 1024 x 600 that is covered in an anti-glare coating that Kobo said will make the tablet better suited for outdoor reading.If any food cube puzzle condition is poorer than those standards,

It also has 8 gigabytes of built-in storage memory and a microSD card slot that can handle up to 32-gigabyte cards,Our high risk merchant account was down for about an hour and a half, as well as an 800-megahertz processor and 512 megabytes of RAM.

Like the Kindle Fire and Nook Color, the Vox is Wi-Fi only.

The multi-touch display on the front is offset by a colored plastic band around the side of the Vox, and Kobo's quilted plastic back design style remains in place. The Vox is available in colors of "hot pink," "lime green," "ice blue" and "jet black."

Unlike the Nook Color and the Kindle Fire, the Kobo Vox is running a less-modified version of Google's Android operating system.Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. Kobo is using "full open access Android 2.3," also known as Gingerbread, an operating system widely used on tablets but also an OS that was designed by Google with phones in mind.we supply all kinds of polished tiles,

Kobo's Reading Life application, of course, is included on the Vox, allowing users to track their reading by way of stats -- what, how much and how long a user reads -- with digital awards offered up based on that progress (number of pages or books read, for example) and integration with Facebook and Twitter for easy sharing.

The Vox will start shipping on Oct. 28, a couple of weeks ahead of the Kindle Fire.

Kobo's Vox keeps it in step with Amazon and Barnes & Noble,ceramic Floor tiles for the medical, with all three companies now offering touch-screen eInk eReaders and 7-inch touch-screen Android tablets.

And that's a point Kobo has made before -- it will match its rivals and won't be left behind as it competes to be the third-place eReader with sights set on growing in stature and sales.

"We're gunning for Amazon," Kobo Chief Executive Michael Serbinis said in a May interview with the Times' Technology blog.

Mastercard Europe President Javier Perez

The king is dead,If any food cube puzzle condition is poorer than those standards, long live the king. According to President of Mastercard Europe Javier Perez, cash is no longer king in society and electronic payments will effectively dethrone it as the main method for financial transactions in just a matter of years.

It may come as no surprise that a senior figure at one of the world’s largest plastic card issuers has this view, but all the evidence points towards a speedy progression towards at least a predominantly cashless society in the not-too-distant future.

A world without physical money altogether is an unlikely scenario, but the advent of mobile technology and recent trends reported by bodies such as the Payments Council would suggest that cash is no longer the choice of the majority.

“There is a perfect storm coming together that should accelerate the adoption of electronic payments,” Perez explained to Retail Gazette.

“I do believe we will see the elimination of cash over time.Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. I think it will accelerate, but whether we will see the complete disappearance of cash remains to be seen.”

Arguably, the retail industry will feel the impact of these changes more than most.

Payments Council research indicates that cash was replaced as the consumer’s payment method of choice for the first time ever in 2010, and by the end of the year 26 billion more was spent on debit cards than in notes and coins.

This margin has continued to widen in 2011, but soon it could be smartphone payment fuelled by near-field communication technology that dominates the transactions landscape, argues Perez.

“New technologies are lowering the cost of electronics payments,” he added.

“Retailers will not need an expensive terminal because they will use mobile devices to make payments.

“The cost of accepting payments will be reduced considerably in the next three to five years.ceramic Floor tiles for the medical,”

There is an argument that the use of mobile as a payment method will be primarily reserved for the younger generation,we supply all kinds of polished tiles, and indeed Mastercard’s own research into m-commerce last month focused on this demographic as the source of its answers.

Its study found that 64 per cent of 18-30-year-olds in the UK regularly use their mobiles to access the internet, 30 per cent frequently use their handsets to do their online grocery shopping and that the mobile phone is the new “shopping buddy for young people”.

Does this mean the baby boomer generation and their elders will continue to use cash, and only tentatively dabble with new technology in its various formats when it comes to everyday transactions?

“Smartphones are being deployed very quickly, and phones – at least in Europe – get replaced every three years or so and have a very short lifespan,” Perez stated.

“You can assume in the next few years that 80 per cent of the population will have a smartphone.

“What this means is that it will be extremely simple to use a card on these phones, whether you are in the physical world or the mobile space.”

His figures add up, with many telecommunications firms already reporting that around three-quarters of new contracts are for smartphones, and traditional handsets make up a much smaller share of the market.

Both consumers and businesses are expected to benefit from the advent of mobile technology; the former from quick and convenient purchase options and the latter in numerous ways, such as money-saving and through data collection.

In an age of austerity when it is rare to go more than a week without another retailer or other business blaming the current economic environment for impacting their bottom line, cost-effective solutions are very much a la mode. And as Perez points out, it is “very expensive” for firms to be handling cash.

And even though plastic and electronic payment options such as Tesco Clubcard and the Boots Advantage Card have acted as pocket-sized data munchers for some time, new payment options being put on the table will further satiate retailers’ hunger for more data about their customers.Our high risk merchant account was down for about an hour and a half,

Indeed, Perez expects that many of the customer relationship management tools it has helped introduce with airlines such as Lufthansa, including queue-busting cards and loyalty schemes, will soon become more ubiquitous on the high streets and shopping malls of the UK.

“Historically we have associated plastic with banks – three years from now you will associate it with retail,” he said.

Washington Connecticut Antiques Show Marks 25th Year With Stylish Weekend

The Washington Connecticut Antiques Show,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. a benefit for the Gunn Memorial Library & Museum,we supply all kinds of polished tiles, was elegantly dressed to mark its 25th anniversary on September 30 with a gala preview. Outside, dozens of Japanese lanterns flanked the walkway leading up to Bryan Memorial Town Hall, augmented by decorative torches in order to create a sparkling entrance for arriving patrons.

Inside, a monumental arrangement of white flowers had been artfully assembled by "Master of the Met" floral designer Chris Giftos, and the dcor, combined with tinkling notes of the pianist's arrangement of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," served to create a sumptuous atmosphere.

Instead of a rainbow, however,If any food cube puzzle condition is poorer than those standards, arriving limos would have disgorged their passengers into cold sheets of rain had it not been for umbrella-wielding youths who escorted the arrivals from car to canopy. In other words, the event did not miss a beat, and visitors — at least 300 by most accounts — soon filled the town hall to chat, sample hors d'oeuvres and imbibe amid a glittering showcase of antiques and fine art. There were 24 dealers set up within the town hall's main floor and the upstairs balcony, about 50 percent new to the show.

It was a diverse grouping of exhibitors set up for the two-day run of the show, October 1–2, augmented by some local firms that offered merchandise and services ranging from historic lighting to floral design.

Pergola Home, a New Preston, Conn., business operated by Peter Stiglin and David Whitman, created a peaceful retreat in a small space upstairs, displaying uncommon plants, aged terracotta planters, vases, sculpture and weathered antiques. Stiglin said they sold two Edo period tansu (chests),the landscape oil paintings pain and pain radiating from the arms or legs. and a few other of the ancient treasures they had brought back from Kyoto this summer, including some beautiful Shigaraki pottery.

Stiglin explained that the Edo period (1615–1868) is when Japan was ruled by a shogun (military ruler) and the capital was moved from Kyoto, north to Edo. When the emperor was restored to the throne in 1868, he kept Edo as his capital and renamed it Tokyo. "The most interest was generated by the two-panel hawk screen sumi-e — brush-and-ink — painting mounted on silver leaf, also dating from the 1600s," said Stiglin. "Being a very particular piece and quite expensive, it didn't sell; but I'm sure we'll find a good home for it before long."

Among the dealers exhibiting at the show for the first time was New York City-based poster specialist the Ross Art Group. A business founded by Mickey Ross more than 12 years ago, the firm's inventory consists of more than 2,500 original vintage posters. They brought a diverse sampling of posters in categories ranging from liquor, food, entertainment, travel, products, transportation, war and sports,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. and reported an active and interesting weekend.

"The venue was great and the organizers were so very helpful," said Mickey Ross. "We received a lot of interest from visitors to the show and did rather well in sales. There was buyer interest in our American original vintage posters for historical reasons as well as good interest in our European posters. There was a pleasant mix of buyers of various age categories and they appreciated what we were showing."

There was a reunion of sorts on the show's main floor. In the back of the hall near the stage, Glenn Randall, a New York City dealer who longtime antiques enthusiasts will remember from venues like the Winter Antiques Show, set up a tasteful display of fine art by American masters, such as Joseph Henry Sharp and Frederic Remington. Just next door, Glenn's son, Greg Randall, exhibited his usual whimsical assortment of garden antiques and architectural/industrial items, such as a massive whale vertebrae mounted on a blackened steel stand and a bundt pan mirror made from vintage baker's trays.

Grosse Pointe Shores Council Imposes 90-Day Moratorium on Solar Panels

Several months after Grosse Pointe Shores residents installed solar panels on the roof of their home, the Planning Commission is seeking to regulate such installations and usage.

At the request of Planning Commission Chairwoman Mary Matuja, the Shores council unanimously approved a 90-day moratorium Monday night on a solar panels.

The time, Matuja told council, will allow the commission a sufficient amount of time to complete the research they've already begun and to write an ordinance concerning the regulation of solar panels.

The planning commission first began it's discussion of solar panels in April after a homeowner on Hawthorne applied for a construction permit to install them. The permit was granted as the city does not have any ordinance or other device to monitor or control their use.

Among the chief concerns in April for the commission members were the aesthetics and safety for emergency workers responding to a home using solar panels.

Matuja said then and said again to council Monday before her request was approved that because of the ugly nature of solar panels the commission wants to be proaReplacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide.ctive to prevent usage from becoming an unwanted look in the Shores.

She said there is always at least one person who will push the envelope when it comes to such projects and that is the person they want to anticipate now before a request is being considered.

She held a sheet with several pictures of the Hawthorne home during her presentation and later told Patch how the appearance of that particular home is what the commission is trying to prevent.Our high risk merchant account was down for about an hour and a half,

At least one company is slated to reveal newer panels that are more aesthetically pleasing and Matuja said the commission is waiting for that information in doing the research.

Before approving the moratorium Councilwoman Victoria Boyce questioned whether the commission intended to make the language generic in nature and wanted to make sure one product was not going to be recommended for usage.we supply all kinds of polished tiles, Matuja reassured her the language would generally address solar panels.

The commission did not seek the moritorium until now--about seven months after they began discussing the topic--because they did not understand what a visual impact the panels would have on a home, Matuja said. After seeing how the home on Hawthorne looks following the completion of the installation,If any food cube puzzle condition is poorer than those standards, the Planning Commission decided it wanted to definitely take action, she said.

The roof that was removed and replaced with solar panels on Hawthorne faces Schroeder Field, and while no one can really see it unless they are in the park,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. Matuja said it is not the look the Shores wants. She also noted the glare that results from the sun reflecting off the panels.

With research already complete about how other communities, including St. Clair Shores, Brownstown, Bloomfield Hills and several others, handle regulation of solar panels, Matuja said 90 days will be a good amount of time.

Shores attorney Mark McInerney said the moratorium will essentially prevent anyone from installing solar panels for that amount of time and afterward an ordinance should be in place to help regulate future requests.